Sasuke was indeed persuaded by Yoruha's words.
At that moment, he looked at Kakashi with eyes filled with a deep thirst for power.
He believed that Kakashi truly had the ability to make him immensely strong.
Meanwhile, Sakura was intrigued by Yoruha. She couldn't help but wonder how Yoruha knew so much about Kakashi.
Just how close were Kakashi and Yoruha?
"Kakashi-sensei, did you tell Yoruha all of this?"
Sakura looked at Kakashi with a hint of jealousy in her tone.
Kakashi's lips twitched slightly.
Glancing at Yoruha, who had a faint smirk on his face, Kakashi felt utterly helpless.
"Not entirely. Most of the information, he probably looked up himself," Kakashi explained.
Sakura huffed, clearly not convinced. "Hmph, I bet Kakashi-sensei told him. It's obvious that in your eyes, Yoruha is more important than us!"
Naruto, realizing what was happening, pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi. "Yeah! Sakura's right! Kakashi-sensei is playing favorites! You told Yoruha everything but didn't tell us!"
Even though Sasuke stayed silent, he also felt a little annoyed.
After all, Kakashi was their teacher. Logically, they should be more important to him than Yoruha.
But to hear that Kakashi had shared so much information with Yoruha and not with them? That didn't sit well with him.
Kakashi felt a headache coming on. He was certain Yoruha had done this on purpose.
Even Tazuna chimed in from the sidelines, fanning the flames, "Kakashi, it looks like being a teacher isn't easy, huh?"
Kakashi could only try to explain, "It's because we've only spent a short time together. We haven't had the chance to really get to know each other."
"And besides, most of the information Yoruha knows, he found out on his own. I didn't tell him."
But Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura didn't believe him.
Naruto yelled, "No way! Kakashi-sensei, you can't play favorites! You have to teach us too! I want to learn that technique Yoruha used to take out those two ninja earlier!"
Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Naruto's right!"
Sasuke, on the other hand, stayed quiet, though he found Naruto's comment ridiculous.
He could tell that Yoruha hadn't used any ninjutsu earlier.
Kakashi chuckled bitterly. "Yoruha didn't use any ninjutsu earlier. What he used was taijutsu."
"And I didn't even teach him that."
But Naruto and Sakura were skeptical. "That's impossible! If you didn't teach him, how could he be so strong?"
Kakashi glanced at Yoruha, clearly exasperated.
Yoruha, however, said nothing, leaving Kakashi to fend for himself.
With no other choice, Kakashi relented, "Alright, when there's time, I'll train all of you together."
Hearing Kakashi's promise, Naruto and Sakura were overjoyed.
Even Sasuke felt a surge of anticipation.
After all, Kakashi's talent rivaled, if not surpassed, that of Uchiha Itachi in his prime.
After walking for a long time, they finally arrived in the Land of Waves.
This small nation bordered the Land of Fire. Its population was modest, and it didn't even have its own shinobi. It was easy to imagine just how poor this country was.
However, the Land of Waves had a pleasant environment.
With its abundant lakes, forests, and natural resources, it seemed like an ideal place to develop tourism.
Moreover, being situated by the sea made it a great candidate for developing a thriving fishing industry.
Given the country's small size, tourism and fishing alone could sustain its economy.
"Tazuna-san, your country has a lot of potential," Yoruha remarked.
Tazuna froze for a moment, thinking Yoruha was being sarcastic.
"Well, the Land of Waves does have its strengths, but..."
"Weak and helpless. There's no way around it; our country is too poor," Tazuna sighed.
Yoruha shook his head. "I'm serious. Your country may be small and sparsely populated, but it has abundant tourism resources. Combined with fishing, that should be enough to bring wealth to your nation."
Currently, the ninja world was in a time of relative peace, and during peaceful times, tourism could thrive.
Tazuna was taken aback. "Who would come to such a poor and remote place for tourism?"
He didn't believe it.
Yoruha shook his head again. "Plenty of people would, as long as you let people from other nations know about this place and do the right promotion."
"There are still quite a few wealthy people in the world."
Tazuna thought for a moment. Although he didn't entirely believe Yoruha, he had to admit there was some merit to the idea.
"All of this hinges on getting the bridge completed first. Without it, no matter how good the tourism resources are, no one will come."
Yoruha nodded in agreement. "That's true."
Meanwhile, Kakashi observed Yoruha with satisfaction.
Ninjas were part of a nation's military forces, essentially an independent organization. They generally didn't concern themselves with economic matters. Aside from mission commissions, funding for their operations typically came from the nation's treasury.
Financial concerns were rarely an issue for ninjas—unless they fell out of favor with their daimyo, like the Sand Village did.
Normally, ninja villages and their daimyos had a mutually beneficial relationship. The daimyo wanted a strong ninja village to protect the nation's interests, and the village needed funding to maintain its strength.
However, in the Sand Village's case, their poor relationship with the daimyo led to meager annual military funding, significantly weakening their overall strength. Their ninja numbers couldn't even compare to the other four great villages.
Ordinary ninjas didn't need to think about economics, but higher-ups like the Hokage certainly did. After all, it took immense resources to train ninjas. Without a strong economy, a ninja village would only grow weaker over time.
Many smaller ninja villages had weakened or even disappeared due to the lack of financial support from their respective nations.
That Yoruha could consider economic issues and even offer practical insights impressed Kakashi.
However, it was clear that Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura weren't interested in such topics. Their focus remained on ninjutsu and other ninja-related matters.
As they traveled, Naruto seemed tense—not out of fear but because he felt embarrassed about his poor performance earlier. He was eager to redeem himself by defeating an enemy on his own.
When the group passed by a lakeside, Naruto noticed movement in a nearby thicket. Excited as though he'd found treasure, he threw several kunai toward the bushes without hesitation.
The sound of the kunai cutting through the air was followed by a brief silence before it seemed like the target in the bushes had been hit.
Overjoyed, Naruto ignored Kakashi's attempt to stop him and dashed into the bushes.
"Hahaha, I hit it!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, ready to boast to the group about taking down an enemy.
But when he reached the bushes and saw what his kunai had struck, he froze awkwardly. Several kunai were embedded in a rabbit, its body bleeding profusely.
Sakura, seeing the scene, rushed over and immediately exploded with anger.
She punched Naruto hard on the head. "Idiot Naruto, what did you just do?!"
For someone like Sakura, the sight of a rabbit's body mangled by kunai was simply too much.
Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't know… I thought it was an enemy."
Sasuke, Yoruha, and Kakashi didn't approach, instead staying by Tazuna's side.
Kakashi sighed, holding his forehead in exasperation. "This kid never changes, does he?"
Sasuke sneered. "Idiot."
Yoruha simply chuckled. Naruto's behavior didn't surprise him in the least. After all, if Naruto didn't act this way, he wouldn't be Naruto.
Read 4 months ahead at: